


Come in close, now it's time to tell the story

by peopleinherearewaiting



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Fluff and Angst, implied threesome, river is river, the doctor finally tells her story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-31
Updated: 2020-01-31
Packaged: 2021-02-25 14:49:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22497862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peopleinherearewaiting/pseuds/peopleinherearewaiting
Summary: The fam are having a relaxing day out at an alien market when they run into someone from the Doctor's past.I started thinking of this when we were all wondering who the surprise appearance was going to be in Fugitive of the Judoon. And then it spiralled a bit.
Relationships: Thirteenth Doctor/River Song, Thirteenth Doctor/Yasmin Khan, Thirteenth Doctor/Yasmin Khan/River Song
Comments: 7
Kudos: 126





	Come in close, now it's time to tell the story

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much to Rachel (CoffeeAndArrows) for jumping down this rabbit hole with me and for beta-reading and coming up with the title (from Cassiopeia by Sara Bareilles - it's literally like the theme to this fic) cos I am the worst at that :)
> 
> Please let me know what you think in the comments!!

“No, Ryan, don’t eat that!” the Doctor shouted from across the street. “I know it looks like a hash brown, but it’s not and it contains three different compounds that are toxic to humans,” she continued, walking over to him.

“Only three?” muttered Ryan, putting the offending item in the Doctor’s hand and scowling slightly as she bit into it and licked her lips.

The Doctor looked at him slightly sheepishly before pointing out a market stall selling what looked like purple French fries. “Those should be perfectly safe,” she said, letting Ryan wander off to explore the market some more.

As Ryan left, Yaz appeared at her side and the Timelord smiled and felt her shoulders relax slightly. Yaz had such a calming effect on her, except for the moments when the Doctor noticed her watching her closely from across the TARDIS or saw her smile when the Doctor managed to use an Earth idiom correctly. Then she would feel her stomach fill with butterflies and both of her hearts would skip a beat. The Doctor chose not to focus too closely on what that meant.

After a particularly unnerving adventure in which the TARDIS fam had encountered an alien species that communicated telepathically and had a penchant for violence, the Doctor had brought her three friends to the planet of Pachar which was known for its farmers’ markets and mountains made of marble. Noticing Yaz’s expression of awe as she gazed at the shades of pink that streaked the mountains, the Doctor felt that she’d picked the perfect place.

The planet was populated by several different species of aliens, but the Doctor and her companions were the only humanoids in sight. ‘Or not quite the only ones’, the Doctor thought as she spotted a flash of blonde, curly hair further down the street. Blonde, curly hair that she would recognise anywhere.

But that couldn’t be right, surely? What would she be doing here of all places, and now of all moments?

“Doctor?” 

The Doctor inclined her head slightly towards Yaz as she spoke but her eyes never left the other woman.

“Doctor, do you know her?” Yaz asked, confusion written on her face.

“I suppose you could say that,” the Doctor replied, still staring at the woman who turned and caught her eye. The other woman frowned slightly as she stared back at the Doctor, before purposefully making her way towards them.

Yaz braced herself for whatever was about to happen; judging from the shocked and pained look on the Doctor’s face, it would be interesting.

The woman stopped in front of the pair just as Ryan and Graham rejoined the group, apparently sensing that something was going to happen.

“Hiya, River,” the Doctor said quietly, apparently deciding to let the situation unfold.

“Doctor?” the woman asked hesitantly, running her eyes up and down the Doctor’s body. Next to her, Yaz coughed slightly. At that, the woman, who was apparently called River, glanced at the three friends before looking back at the Doctor.

“How did you recognise me?” the Doctor asked.

“Only you could pull off an outfit like that,” River replied. She pulled open the Doctor’s coat slightly and chuckled. “You’ve gone back to the suspenders I see,” she said. “And how else would a group of humans wearing 21st-century clothing end up on a planet like this?”

The Doctor frowned. She had a point. Meanwhile, Yaz, Ryan and Graham were looking at each other in bewilderment. How could this woman know the Doctor but not recognise her?

“What are you doing on Pachar, River?” the Doctor asked.

“Oh, you know me, just passing through,” River replied vaguely, a hint of mischief in her eyes.

“River Song, you have never ‘just passed through’ anywhere ever in your life,” the Doctor replied, amused. River just shrugged slightly as if to say ‘and what of it?’ as the two women gazed at each other for a long moment, oblivious to the world around them.

Yaz coughed again, and the Doctor jumped slightly.

“Ah, yes, right,” she started, appearing suddenly unsure of herself. “River, these are my friends Graham, Ryan, and Yaz. Gang, this is my-” the Doctor hesitated for a moment before continuing. “-my wife, River Song.”

Yaz choked on air at the Doctor’s words while Ryan and Graham were looking back and forth between the Doctor and the other woman. River looked on, bemused. The boy’s reactions to her relationship were comical, but it was Yaz’s reaction that really piqued her interest. No doubt the blonde Timelord was completely oblivious to her companion’s feelings. As per usual.

“Shall we head back to the TARDIS, fam and River? It’s starting to get a bit hot out here,” the Doctor said, looking flustered. When nobody else answered, all still looking rather shell-shocked, River decided to put the Doctor out of her misery. For now. 

“That sounds like a brilliant idea, sweetie,” River replied, “I assume she’s redecorated again.”

“Ooh, yes, you’ll love it,” the Doctor exclaimed, “she’s really outdone herself this time.”

As the group turned to head back, River noticed Yaz scowling and muttering ‘sweetie’ to herself. She laughed quietly but the Doctor still heard her.

“What’s so funny?” she asked.

“I think poor Yaz over there is feeling slightly jealous,” River replied. Seeing the Doctor’s confused expression, she sighed. “You really are oblivious, aren’t you?”

“But why would Yaz be jealous? She’s my best friend and we look out for each other and she’s super cool. She’s a police officer back in Sheffield, you know?”

“Oh, she’s definitely cute,” River said. “Maybe she should join us later.”

The Doctor didn’t fully understand what that meant, and judging from River’s mischievous tone, she didn’t want to ask, either. As they continued walking, the Doctor slowed slightly, allowing Yaz to catch up to her and River. The Doctor smiled and looped their arms together, and Yaz relaxed slightly.

“So, how did you and the Doctor meet, then?” Yaz asked River.

“Now, that’s a very long and complicated story,” River replied. “Let’s wait until we’re back at the TARDIS so we can tell it to everyone in one go.” Yaz nodded, wondering how there could be much more to the story than meeting on some planet, travelling together for a while before getting married, and eventually going their separate ways. But then, life with the Doctor was never straightforward. 

Once the group arrived back at the TARDIS, River paused and placed her hand on the blue box. The door immediately sprang open, as if to eagerly invite the woman inside. River chuckled. “I can see she still isn’t keen on the way you fly her,” she said to the Doctor. “She’s practically begging me to take her for a spin,” she continued.

“Wait a second,” Ryan said. “You can fly the TARDIS?”

River looked over at him and smiled coyly. “The TARDIS and I have a very intimate relationship,” she replied in a way that could only be described as seductive. “And it makes a nice change for her to be flown by someone who is a competent pilot,” she finished, winking at Ryan before turning to look at the Doctor innocently.

The Doctor huffed. “Will you ever be able to not bring that up?” she asked.

River smiled. “I doubt it, my dear,” she said. “I do love your face when you’re jealous.”

“Stop flirting with my ship and my friends, River,” the Doctor ordered, appearing to get fidgety again. 

“You know I’m only just getting started, sweetie,” River replied, this time turning to wink at Yaz who flushed and felt her knees wobble. “Right then, now that we’re back here, should we tell them our story, Doctor?” River asked.

The Timelord hummed nervously before saying, “I think we should all have a cup of tea and something to eat before we do anything else, don’t you think, fam?” With that, she turned on her heel and headed towards the kitchen, yelling “come on gang!” over her shoulder. The three friends looked at each other and sighed, picking up on the blonde’s nervous energy but not knowing what else to do except to follow her.

“Yaz,” River called as the boys headed out the console room. “Can I have a word?” 

Yaz turned and headed back towards the Doctor’s wife, feeling a bit apprehensive facing this gorgeous, obviously very powerful woman.

“Don’t worry, I won’t bite,” River joked. “Well, unless you ask nicely,” she added, watching with a hint of satisfaction as Yaz’s cheeks turned a deep pink colour. She found herself rather intrigued by this particular companion and could see why the Doctor appeared so fond of her.

After a few seconds, Yaz regained control of her emotions well enough to speak. “What did you want to talk about?” she asked.

River’s face turned more serious. “The Doctor clearly hasn’t mentioned me before. I was wondering exactly how much you know about her?”

Yaz sighed. “Not much. She doesn’t like talking about herself. At all. I know that she’s an alien with two hearts, and she used to be a white-haired Scotsman,” Yaz replied. “I don’t know anything about where she’s from, why she does what she does, or even what she is,” Yaz said. “We’ve tried asking her stuff, but she never talks about it, especially after we had a run-in with the Master-”

“You saw the Master?” River exclaimed. “No wonder she seems more on edge than usual.”

“All we know about him is that he’s an enemy from her past,” Yaz said.

River nodded. “That’s the simplest version of the story,” she said.

At that moment, the Doctor and the boys arrived back in the console room carrying cups of tea and a packet of bourbons. “What are you two talking about?” she asked, twisting the biscuit wrapper in her hands nervously.

“You,” replied River point blankly, turning to face the Doctor fully with her arms crossed.

“Me?” the Doctor asked apprehensively. “Why would you talk about me? I’m not that interesting.”

“Actually, Doctor,” said Yaz, “I think you’re very interesting.”

The Doctor squirmed. The looks from her wife and her best friend were so intense that she thought she might burst into flames. At least then she wouldn’t be required to answer any questions.

“Yaz and I have established that you haven’t been very forthcoming with your identity or your history. Doctor, don’t you think that the people who travel with you, who put themselves in harm’s way with you, deserve to know you and understand you properly?”

“But River,” the Doctor said quietly, “if I tell them everything then they’ll probably leave me and I don’t want to be alone again.”

Ryan and Graham looked at each other. They could hear the rawness in the Doctor’s voice and see the insecurity written across her face. What could be so bad that she was afraid to let them in at all?

“Now, I’m sure that’s not the case, dear,” River replied, watching Yaz try to hold back her protestations at the Doctor’s words. “But besides, aren’t you all for people having the agency to make their own decisions in an informed manner?” she countered.

The Doctor sighed and nodded, deciding to give up arguing further. She never did seem to win against River. “Alright, perhaps I haven’t been as truthful as I should have been,” she said, “but I don’t know how to tell it all anymore, River. There’s too much and it’s too complicated and it-” she hesitated, “it hurts,” she finished softly.

“Just start at the beginning, my love,” River said. “I’ll jump in if you need my help.”

The Doctor breathed in deeply, calming herself so she could start. 

“I’m a Timelord, I’m from the planet Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborous. And I’m over 2000 years old.

* * *

“So I really was a white-haired Scotsman, and then I regenerated again, fell out my TARDIS, through the roof of the train, and that’s when I met you guys.”

The Doctor stopped, voice slightly raw after talking for close to an hour, only pausing occasionally when River took over to clarify something or to explain the parts that were more her story than the Doctor’s.

River looked over at the Doctor’s companions who were all staring with varying expressions of disbelief and gradual comprehension at the Timelord.

“It really is an impressive story, my dear,” she said, breaking the silence before the Doctor could get carried away with her own thoughts.

“It’s not impressive, it’s just long,” the Doctor replied. “Long and full of ghosts.”

River was about to disagree with what the Doctor was saying but before she could, Yaz jumped in herself.

“Of course, it’s impressive, Doctor! How many planets have you saved in your lifetime? How many individual lives? You’ve had to make more sacrifices than any one person ever should, but that doesn’t cancel out any of the good you have done, either,” she said, looking passionately at the Doctor. “You put yourself in harm’s way over and over again if there is the slightest chance that you could save just a single person. You are not a bad person, even if the sacrifices are easier to remember than the victories.”

While she spoke, Yaz had moved closer and closer until she was standing right in front of her, holding her elbows so the Doctor couldn’t turn away. When Yaz had finished speaking, a tear fell from the Doctor’s eye. And then another, and another until her body was shaking with sobs of grief for everything she had lost and everything she had seen. Yaz gripped the Doctor tighter, pulling her body into a crushing hug that the Doctor fell into immediately.

River looked on with satisfaction that the Doctor was finally getting the release that she had needed for a long time. And River was glad that her wife had someone as sweet and caring as Yaz to look after her, and a tough side to challenge the Doctor’s stubbornness. 

Looking over at the boys, River chuckled as she realised they were both in the middle of existential crises after hearing a story that lasted more than twenty human lifetimes and spanned the entire universe. She imagined it would take a little while for them to shake off that feeling of smallness. Even with a lifespan longer than that of an average human and the ability to hop from one planet to the next, River herself would always be in awe of the Doctor. But then, she was her wife after all.

* * *

Later that evening, the group were all sat in the kitchen, drinking tea and eating the bourbons the Doctor had found earlier. Apparently, the TARDIS had decided that the Doctor was going a bit overboard with the custard creams and had cut off her supply.

The Doctor was making a rather obvious attempt to revert to her bubbly persona, but Ryan gently told her that she didn’t need to act a certain way around them and it was okay for her to just be. River had smiled at him, Yaz had squeezed his arm, and the Doctor had just nodded gratefully before calming down again.

Eventually, the boys rose from the table to head off to bed, leaving the three women in the kitchen. After a few minutes, Yaz sighed and started to get up as well. She was reluctant to leave the Doctor’s side but thought it might be a good idea to leave the Doctor alone with her wife for a little while. But as she rose, River reached out for her arm, gently pulling her back down again.

“Why don’t you stay a little longer, Yaz?” River asked. “I would love to get to know you a little better,” she said, gazing at the younger woman with an intensity that set her cheeks ablaze again.

“Um, okay,” Yaz replied, glancing at the Doctor who smiled encouragingly at her.

“The Doctor mentioned you’re a police officer back on Earth. You must be fairly fit, I imagine,” River said, her eyes not leaving Yaz’s face as Yaz swallowed and looked everywhere but back at her.

“I guess,” Yaz managed to reply. “You know, you never did say what you were doing on Pachar,” she continued, trying to get her own question in and stop the conversation from being quite so one-sided.

“Oh, I was just seeing the sights,” replied River, “and I have to say, they’ve been quite impressive so far,” she finished, making a show of checking Yaz out again.

The younger woman blushed crimson, realising that the onslaught of flirting wasn’t going to stop. The attention made her slightly uncomfortable because she wasn’t used to it, but she didn’t dislike it. If anything, she was confused that it was the Doctor’s wife that was flirting with her. 

“Leave her alone, River,” the Doctor said, reaching across the table to take Yaz’s hand in hers. “You’re making her nervous.”

“Oh, I’m not sure that she minds, do you Yaz?” River replied, smiling at her more kindly than seductively this time. “Although, I imagine she’d welcome the attention more if it were coming from you than from me…” she continued, winking at Yaz again.

Yaz really thought she was going to melt into the floor this time. The Doctor’s face was a picture of confusion and innocence and River sighed in exasperation.

“Maybe it would just be easier to show you,” she said, before rising from the table. She offered her hand to Yaz whose brain was still short-circuiting and started to lead her out of the kitchen and down the corridor. “Come on, Doctor,” she said over her shoulder as the Doctor trailed behind them in confusion.

After a minute, they arrived at what Yaz knew to be the Doctor’s bedroom, although she had never been in before. Suddenly, it hit her what River was planning and she inhaled sharply, glancing up at the woman who was still holding her hand. River looked at her with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. 

“Okay?” River asked. Yaz nodded, nervous but excited.

A few seconds later, the Doctor caught up with them. She looked at them both, confused.

“Now then, what are we doing standing outside my bedroom?” she asked.

“Don’t worry, sweetie, you won’t be standing up for much longer,” River replied, glancing at Yaz as they both reached up to grab the Doctor’s lapels and pull her into the room with them.

* * *

The following morning, Yaz woke up in the Doctor’s bed alone. She took a few minutes to process everything that had happened last night and to let her eyes adjust to the soft light the TARDIS was projecting into the room.

She wasn’t surprised to see that the Doctor and River had gotten up already; the Doctor hardly slept anyway, and she imagined that River would head off on her own again.

She took her time getting up, letting the hot shower ease the aches in her legs before dressing and heading out to the console room.

When she entered, she found the Doctor stood by herself at the console, staring into space.

“Hello, you,” Yaz said, drawing the Doctor out of her thoughts. The Doctor looked up and smiled softly at Yaz.

“Morning, Yaz,” she replied.

“Did River leave already?” Yaz asked, seeing that she wasn’t in the console room.

“Yeah, she left earlier, said something about needing to meet a buyer in Alexandria,” the Doctor said, shaking her head slightly. “She’ll be selling stolen artefacts again, I imagine.”

Yaz didn’t feel too surprised after spending a few hours with River Song. She seemed like trouble, but the good kind.

“The boys still aren’t up yet, so let’s have a relaxing morning,” Yaz said. “Can we just sit and float in space for a while?”

The Doctor smiled and started to push levers on the console. “I have just the galaxy in mind,” she replied.

When the TARDIS had stopped, the Doctor walked over to the doors and threw them open before sitting down with her legs dangling outside. She patted the space next to her, urging Yaz to join her.

As Yaz walked over, she caught sight of the galaxy they were floating in front of and gasped. “Wow, it’s incredible,” she said.

The Doctor laughed. “It’s one of my favourites,” she replied. “It’s called the Cartwheel Galaxy. It’s about 500 million light-years away from Earth. And, incidentally,” she continued, “my stomach always feels like it’s cartwheeling when I’m around you.”

Yaz had been in the process of sitting down, but she nearly fell out of the TARDIS door when the Doctor said that. The Doctor grabbed her arm and helped her down beside her before chuckling and murmuring ‘sorry’.

Yaz looked at her in disbelief. “You actually like me back?” she asked.

“Of course, I do, Yaz,” the Doctor said. “I think I have for a while but it can take a while for me to figure out my emotions.”

“That’s alright, we’re here now,” Yaz replied, squeezing the Doctor’s arm and laying her head on her shoulder. “And I’m always here if you ever want to talk about what you’re feeling or your past, or anything. You don’t have to keep it bottled up anymore. Nothing you could say would ever make me scared or make me judge you.”

The Doctor nodded slightly and curled more into Yaz’s side. She felt peaceful for the first time in a long time.

The Timelord and Yaz sat there for a while longer, letting their thoughts drift as they gazed out upon the stars.


End file.
